


Trust and Betrayal

by Mingamelon



Series: The Maraa Legacy (SWTOR) [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Established Relationship, F/M, Forgiveness, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Post-Quinncident Fix-It Fic, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 17:52:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7724089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mingamelon/pseuds/Mingamelon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Your forgiveness,” Nyeris began carefully. “Will come in time. When old wounds heal and Baras falls to my blade. When you stand at my side as I am fully recognized as the Emperor’s Wrath before the Dark Council. Then... your forgiveness will come.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust and Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

> Oh Bioware, this is the second time you've forced my character to make up with their love interest without talking about their less than stellar actions. *stares at Kaidan* As much as I do want these two together, it felt so jarring to go from a scenario in which Quinn makes an attempt at my Sith Warrior's life and then snap right into status quo as if nothing ever happened.
> 
> So here's my attempt at fixing that, in my own way. I shifted around the events of the romance a bit, mainly the scene when Quinn and the Sith Warrior first sleep together, because holy whiplash did that one feel weird happening RIGHT AFTER the betrayal in game.
> 
> Also a slight warning- I took major creative liberties here as to Quinn's motives and how things went down behind the scenes in an effort to make things flow more smoothly storywise.
> 
> Special thanks to EmiWanKenobi for requesting this on Tumblr! ♥ Aléna belongs to her, I just borrowed her for a bit.

“You’re sure about this?” Aléna asked, the frown on her face and arms crossed over her chest displaying her disapproval in full. “I should be there with you, cloaked in a corner of the room.” The bounty hunter considered for a moment. “Or if not me, then Muscles. Point is- you shouldn’t go in alone.”

“I won’t be alone. Jaesa will be posted outside the observation deck. Should she sense any attempt of escape, my apprentice need only pass through a door.” Nyeris met Aléna’s eyes, holding her friend’s gaze steadily. “And you know as well as I do why Lieutenant Pierce’s presence would only complicate things. I did not spare-” Even the thought of speaking Quinn’s name gave her pause, her throat momentarily tight. Nyeris began again, very aware of the bounty hunter’s careful watch. “I did not spare his life only for him to lose it on my ship.”

“Something Muscles and I can’t promise to stick to.” Aléna muttered darkly with a sigh. “Alright, alright. I’ll stick Pretty Boy in the observation deck and leave you two to figure things out.”

“Thank you.” Nyeris inclined her head, but the gesture didn’t earn a response from her friend. She didn’t need a connection to the Force to feel the sharp prickles of uneasiness coming from the bounty hunter, and Nyeris didn’t blame Aléna for her misgivings at all. Hunted across the galaxy by the overly ambitious Darth Baras and with one of their own revealed as a traitor, uneasiness was to be expected during times like these.

***

Jaesa had taken up a sentry watch just beside the door leading into the observatory when Nyeris approached. “Master.” Her apprentice greeted, lowering her head respectfully.

Nyeris considered the young woman before her for a moment, memories of missions spent hunting the gifted apprentice under Baras’ orders briefly touching her mind. “Jaesa, a word before I leave.” Her striking violet eyes met clear, intense brown ones, and Nyeris was well aware of her apprentice peering into her heart and thoughts.

“You wish to speak with me of a personal matter.” Jaesa intoned. “One that may cause us both upset.”

“I want to know how you feel serving loyally under me, the woman who killed your parents.” Nyeris stated bluntly, her tone neutral and controlled.

“They are… at one with the Force. At peace.” The young woman answered with apparent difficulty.

“That isn’t what I asked of you.”

“No, Master.” Jaesa lowered her head slightly for her disobedience, then lifted it again to meet Nyeris’ eyes. “Everything you had done in your pursuit of me while I was Master Nomen Karr’s apprentice was under the order of Darth Baras.”

“Following the orders of a madman clutching for power does not warrant forgiveness.” Nyeris narrowed her eyes, knowing there had to be more to the young woman’s reasoning than that.

“It doesn’t, Master.” Jaesa agreed respectfully, then continued on. “You could have tortured them to appease your master or you own desire, but you didn’t. You are a Sith of the Light Side of the Force. Their deaths were quick, painless.”

 _And pointless_. Nyeris reflected bitterly, now that she stood apart from Baras and his ambitions. Too many times she had found herself striking down parents and children under his influence, justifying her actions by believing in her master’s cause. She also believed sparing the targets of Baras’ wrath would only cause them to suffer more harshly when he inevitably found them himself at a later time.

“Thank you for your answers, Jaesa.” Nyeris spoke after a moment of silence, intending that to be the end of the conversation as she took a step towards the door her apprentice stood guard beside.

“Will you avenge them?”

Nyeris’ hand was hovering above the door’s keypad when the sudden question was asked. She had grown so used to her apprentice being compliant, speaking only when spoken to or if she sensed distrust in those around her, and the abrupt query momentarily gave Nyeris pause.

Avenge them from what, she might have asked. Baras, the man who gave the order, or herself, who’s hand had dealt the death blow? Nyeris was certain the path she traveled would lead her to a final confrontation with her former master, where she would strike him down for the good of the Empire and all the lives consumed in the fires of his ambition. But where did that leave her and the part she played in the death and destruction?

 _I won’t die yet. Not even in the name of atonement_.

“I will.” Nyeris answered with measured certainty, then entered the code to admit her to the observation deck and stepped inside without another word to her apprentice.

Though Nyeris hadn’t visited the observatory for some time now, it was just as she remembered- a long room devoid of any furnishings save for a table that ordinarily housed a bottle of her preferred Alderaanian wine. To her left was a window that stretched the entire length of the wall, giving off a brilliant display of the stars and planets lazily drifting by outside.

There was one other person within the observation deck, and his attention was on her from the second she stepped into the room.

“My Lord.” Quinn acknowledged her, as formal as ever, and he met her eyes without flinching.

“Quinn.” His name felt almost unfamiliar on her tongue, and Nyeris was reminded of their first encounter on Balmorra. She put the memory aside when she caught sight of the split lip her captain had, clearly a reminder of what he was to expect from Aléna should he attempt anything. Nyeris folded her arms and fixed a firm, authoritative glare on the man who stood opposite of her. “Explain yourself.”

“I have betrayed you to Darth Baras.” Quinn stated clearly, as one would have recited a regulations protocol.

“Clearly.” Nyeris’ icy tone matched the gaze she had set on the man. “How long have you been reporting your observations to my former master?”

“Ever since our first meeting on Balmorra.”

 _Since the very start_. Nyeris reflected bitterly. “Your captaincy on my ship, was that a part of Baras’ plan as well?”

“No.” Quinn’s eyebrows furrowed indignantly. “Darth Baras offered me a way off that miserable planet in exchange for my services, and I was more than ready to assist with his needs. However, once I had completed what was required of me, I was free to choose where I would be assigned. Regardless of my earlier intentions, I chose to serve under you of my own accord.”

“Only it wasn’t long before Baras had you informing on me again some time later.” Nyeris guessed, folding her arms across her chest.

Quinn nodded slowly. “I had been a member of your crew for some time at that point. I had… become fond of you and our time together.” He admitted softly and for the first time broke their shared eye contact to look away from her. “I had never been as conflicted as I was at the moment Darth Baras called upon me again. I requested that I should be transferred after, if you recall.”

That was an evening Nyeris was certain neither of them would easily forget. Quinn met her eyes once more and Nyeris sensed his reminiscing along with her own. Her pale hands pressed against the dark fabric of an Imperial uniform, a slightly hesitant kiss that became more certain the more they shared… “I refused that request.” Nyeris stated firmly to clear the memory from her mind.

“And so I remained aboard the _Fury_ , both as Darth Baras’ informant and at your side as captain.”

The silence that followed was filled with unbidden memories coming to the front of Nyeris’ mind. Her captain, always standing so dutifully by the helm or at her side. The occasional visit to the room they resided in now, seeking nothing more than private company as they watched the stars gracefully slide by the window.

The last of the memories to touch her mind were the few times she had admitted Quinn to her chambers. It was Nyeris’ turn to look away, unable to meet his eyes as she remembered those nights. “You said your reward for informing on me the first time was Baras granting your leave of Balmorra. What did he offer you the second time he contacted you?”

“Nothing of any importance, my Lord.”

Quinn’s answer was frustratingly vague and very unlike his usual prompt, informative returns. Nyeris turned her head to look at the man so quickly a few locks of silvery hair tumbled over her shoulder, her expression sharp with anger. “Was the reward for my life not worth remembering?” She demanded.

“I say that,” Quinn began, his voice as even tempered as ever. “Because there is nothing anyone could ever offer to me that would be worth taking your life.”

“And yet you informed my former master of my every move.” Nyeris reminded him. “You programmed attack droids with that very purpose and set them on me.”

“That…” Quinn took a moment to gather his thoughts and drew himself up to full height, his head held high. “That was a decision I made on my own, without Darth Baras’ knowing. It was his desire for you to be taken in alive.”

Nyeris flexed the fingers of her dominant hand. One good Force choke would put an end to this farce, but something made her hesitate. “You disobeyed a direct order from Baras. Why?” She reached out to touch Quinn’s mind using the Force, fully expecting to sense illusions of grander or a reckless bid at gaining Baras’ favor. Instead, Nyeris felt cold, sharp fear, not for himself… but for her.

“Returning you to Darth Baras would have meant the torture of your body and mind. A fate worse than death.” Quinn explained quietly, his blue eyes clear with certainty.

Nyeris remembered the way the Republic informant’s body twisted and writhed as Baras called upon the most sinister arts of the Dark Side to get what he wanted on Dromund Kaas. “If that was your true motive and you denied Baras the pleasure of having me delivered to him alive, it would have cost you your life for insubordination.”

“That would have mattered if I intended to return to Baras after.” Quinn shook his head slowly. “If everything had gone according to my plans, I would have taken my own life shortly after yours.”

Nyeris sensed the truth in his words, icy cold and steeled with resolve that wasn’t some trick of the mind. Quinn was a very intelligent man, but even higher learned minds were just as open and readable as any other to someone as strong in the Force as she was. “If that was you plan all along, why ally yourself with Baras?”

“On Hoth, Darth Baras displayed his ability to punish those who disappointed him even at great distance and through holo communications. Were I to refuse him, he would have disposed of me with little effort.” Quinn hesitated, then added. “And if that had come to pass, I am sure Darth Baras would have used his hand in my undoing to provoke you into seeking him out.”

It was almost too easy for Nyeris to imagine that scenario and the hairs on the back of her neck rose at the thought of sensing Baras using his abilities on her ship while being so far away. Her mind’s eye pictured a scene where Quinn lay broken on the floor of the helm and Baras’ voice taunted her through a holo display. While she was not the sort that would have played into her former master’s hand so easily, Nyeris couldn’t deny the impact such a turn of events would have had on her.

“I am well aware that my actions have been deceitful.” Quinn’s voice broke through her troubled thoughts. “But I would have you know I took no pleasure in betraying you. Doing such has been the lowest point in my life and the shame I bear I will carry for years to come.”

Nyeris could almost taste the sharp bitterness that came from the man opposite of her. Anger, shame, self loathing… and with a sudden jolt of her mind, Nyeris recognized those feelings as the same she harbored for herself when she had carried out Baras’ ruthless orders. She recalled her earlier conversation with Jaesa and how her apprentice had somehow been able to forgive her for her crimes.

Another long pause had settled between them when she lifted her head to meet Quinn’s eyes once more. Nyeris sensed his resolve to receive her judgment for his actions and took in a short breath before speaking.

“I would have done the same.”

A heartbeat of silence passed and Quinn blinked suddenly, taken by surprise. “My Lord?” He asked.

“Or rather, I have done the same. During the time where I served as Baras’ apprentice.” Nyeris sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “Fathers, daughters, sons, sleeper agents, Jedi… I killed them all as I was ordered to, convinced that had I let them live another day, Baras would inevitably find them. With the way he commands the darker aspects of the Force… death by my hand was kinder.” She frowned and looked to the other, her brows knit. Nyeris didn’t have to ask Quinn if that was how he felt regarding Baras’ plans for her. She had already heard it by his own admission, not to mention felt his resolve, his fear should he have failed and she fell into her former master’s possession.

“I will not ask your forgiveness.” Quinn’s expression had hardened. “I have no right to.”

“Your forgiveness,” Nyeris began carefully. “Will come in time. When old wounds heal and Baras falls to my blade. When you stand at my side as I am fully recognized as the Emperor’s Wrath before the Dark Council. Then… your forgiveness will come.”

“Understood, my Lord.” Quinn bowed his head obediently, but under the respectful demeanor, Nyeris sensed his admiration and loyalty growing with every heartbeat that passed.

She began to speak again, but thought better of it and instead held Quinn’s gaze for a moment more before turning to leave the observation deck, her robes gently swirling about her.

“Lord Nyeris?”

The sound of her name was enough to give Nyeris pause. No matter the level of intimacy between them, neither of them had made it a habit to use their first names. “Yes, Malavai?” She responded in kind.

“If you wished to discuss a matter of concern further, I would be willing to listen before you took your leave.”

A bold statement, but there was a note of concern in Quinn’s voice, and Nyeris decided now was as good a time as any. She faced him once more, her arms loosely folded in front of her as pale lilac eyes met deep blue. “I am with child.” Nyeris revealed quietly, then promptly ceased her mental observation over Quinn’s mind. Whatever private thoughts he had to the news were his own.

Quinn’s eyes widened in surprise and Nyeris was certain he remembered that he was the only man she had ever allowed in her bed. “I… congratulations, my Lord.” He said after some time. “Your child will no doubt secure the future of your legacy.”

“Our child.” Nyeris corrected, holding his gaze steadily. “Our legacy.”

The response seemed to catch Quinn off guard more than the news of her pregnancy. “Yes, of course.” He replied, somewhat breathlessly. “Our legacy.”

Nyeris nodded her head slowly in approval. “You are to return to you duties as captain on the morning.” The other picked up on the clear end of their conversation and lowered his head in acknowledgment. “Until then, Quinn.”

“Rest well, my Lord.”

As the doors to the observation deck closed behind her, Nyeris’ shoulders lowered as the last of her firm, authoritative stance relaxed. She turned her head to Jaesa, still standing vigilantly on watch. “Come, let us meditate.”

“Yes, Master.” The young woman fell into step beside her as they walked through the corridor.

Nyeris did not doubt herself or the decisions she had made as she settled into the training room with her apprentice. There were more pressing matters at hand as the _Fury_ drew closer toward Corellia, where she was to put an end to Baras’ schemes. Just before Nyeris cleared her mind, she brushed a hand against her stomach and thought of her child.

Once those thoughts had passed, Nyeris relaxed and let her mind become one with the Force, closing her eyes and letting meditative peace take her.


End file.
